As Turkey is pursuing contact with both the Ukrainian and Russian side, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ankara has an initiative to facilitate the evacuation of wounded from the besieged city of Mariupol amid the ongoing war
Turkey has proposed a plan to help evacuate wounded people and dead bodies from the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, cautioning that the initiative depended on the will of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Zelenskyy in a televised interview with local media said Ukraine's efforts to push back Russian troops from Mariupol were facing difficulties.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on the same day that Ankara expects positive developments regarding the evacuation of civilians and injured people from Ukraine’s besieged city of Mariupol as it continues to coordinate work in this regard.
Speaking at a news conference, Akar said Ankara continues to coordinate evacuation efforts with Ukrainian and Russian authorities to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid and the evacuation of Turkish citizens and other nationals. “We hope for and expect positive developments within a short period of time,” Akar said.
A day earlier, mentioning efforts for the liberation of Mariupol, Zelenskyy pointed to Turkey’s possible mediation.
In response to a question on the possibility of a meeting with Putin planned to be held in Turkey, Zelenskyy said the Russian side should act fast to arrange a meeting.
Delaying the negotiation process would worsen the situation for Russia, he noted.
There is a possibility of Turkey’s mediation "in this special mission in Mariupol," Zelenskyy said, adding that the issue might be clarified in the coming days or hours.
Turkey has been one of the countries leading efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has impacted millions of civilians. Turkey says it can facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but says that a cease-fire and humanitarian corridors are needed first.
Within this scope, the Russian defense ministry said late Sunday that Moscow decided to open another humanitarian corridor in Mariupol to evacuate civilians and foreign nationals at the request of Turkey.
Moscow will provide full assistance in the evacuation of civilians and foreign citizens in accordance with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's request to Putin, the ministry said.
On the other side, Turkey had previously stated it is ready to provide ships for the evacuation of civilians and those wounded in Mariupol.
As part of its efforts for peace, Turkey hosted the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine in Antalya earlier this month. Foreign ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Dmytro Kuleba of Ukraine met in the Turkish resort town of Antalya for talks, which Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also attended. The talks were largely inconclusive, but Ankara considers the fact that they took place at all a success.
Maintaining its neutral and balanced stance, Turkey continues its diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the Ukraine conflict, urging all sides to exercise restraint. While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
NATO ally Turkey borders Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. Since the beginning of the conflict, Ankara has offered to mediate between the two sides and host peace talks, underlining its support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Having called Russia’s invasion an unacceptable violation of international law, Turkey has carefully formulated its rhetoric not to offend Moscow, with which it has close energy, defense and tourism ties.
While forging close ties with Russia in a number of areas and relying heavily on Russian tourists, Turkey has sold drones to Ukraine, much to the dismay of Moscow. Turkey also opposes Russian policies in Syria and Libya, as well as Moscow's annexation of Crimea. Erdoğan has repeatedly said Turkey will not abandon its relations with Russia or Ukraine, underlining that Ankara's ability to speak to both sides is an asset.
Ankara has frequently called for Zelenskyy and Putin to come together, but the two countries have sent mixed signals.
Russia doesn't reject the possibility of a meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy, but it can only happen once a document has been agreed, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Russia and Ukraine are continuing intensive peace talks via video link, Interfax news agency cited a deputy Russian foreign minister as saying earlier on Tuesday.
Peskov declined to comment on the progress of the talks. On the other side, Ukrainian negotiator Davyd Arakhamia’s claimed that Moscow’s negotiators had informally agreed to most proposals by Ukraine recently. "Our task at the moment is to work out the final version of the documents and outstanding issues to enable an eventual meeting of the presidents," Arakhamia said. Should the meeting materialize, he said, it would likely be held in Turkey, Ankara or Istanbul.
Massacre in Bucha ‘horrifying’
The images of the massacre reported by media from various regions near Kyiv, including Bucha and Irpin, are "horrifying," the Turkish Embassy in Kyiv said on Monday.
The embassy said on Twitter: "We sincerely share the pain of the friendly Ukrainian people."
"The targeting of innocent civilians is never acceptable. It is our basic expectation that the matter will be subject to an independent investigation and those responsible will be identified," it noted.
"As it has been since the first day of the war, Turkey will continue to work to end such shameful scenes for humanity and to ensure peace as soon as possible."
On Sunday, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said 410 civilian bodies were recovered from areas in the wider Kyiv region, while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the issue.
The Russian war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, U.S. and U.K. among others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.
https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/diplomacy/turkey-has-offered-to-help-wounded-in-mariupol-ukraines-zelenskyy
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